My good friend “Sparky” sent me a link early Tuesday morning and said to go there to sign up for the Covid vaccine. I hit send around 9:00am Tuesday. Sparky called yesterday morning on her way home from getting her first shot. She advised me to answer the phone when it rings, even if I don’t recognize the number, because volunteers were using their personal cell phones to call you to schedule. I made sure the sound was turned up and sure enough, around 2:00 yesterday afternoon, they called to see if we could be there at 4:12. I told her we absolutely would be there!

We arrived a few minutes early and were greeted by a nice man who directed us to a parking space. He said we should walk up to the two men at the table by the sidewalk five minutes before our scheduled time. They flagged us in. Another man opened the outside doors, a third opened the inside doors. A fourth man walked right up to us and directed us to the next available clerk. It took maybe three minutes to get signed in. We turned around and a man was waiting for us to follow him into another room. He directed us to two empty chairs. 

The nurse practitioner introduced herself, confirmed my name and birthdate, asked me several questions, told me what to expect, then gave me my shot. Several years ago, I got hives after taking an antibiotic, so instead of waiting the required fifteen minutes to make sure I didn’t have any adverse reaction, I was given a pink card and asked to wait thirty. I felt nothing remarkable and we were sent on our way. No lines. Forty minutes start to finish.

West Virginia has the unusual distinction of being Number 1 in the country as far as per capita vaccinations for Covid. I have to say, our Governor may come across as quite a doofus from time to time, but they’ve got this down to a science and if it keeps going this way, we’re doing a great job. I’m very proud to be a Mountaineer.

As soon as we got to the truck, we both took two extra strength Tylenol to ward off any side effects, like muscle or joint pain and fever. As of this writing, just before bedtime last night, I didn’t feel anything amiss. I am so relieved to get this first shot behind us. We received the Moderna vaccine, so we will get the second dose on February 18th. Once the second dose is in and two weeks pass, we should have our antibodies built up with a 95% effective rate. Then, I can go to Florida for my surgery…and a little beach time!!!

We are aware we will still need to wear our masks and use good hand washing techniques and keep our distance, but we can breathe a little easier and start doing a little more. Once enough of us have the vaccines, we will develop herd immunity and we will reach a semblance of normalcy. No…there are no little microchips running around inside my body. The vaccine will not change my DNA nor will it alter my brainwaves in any way. It is not the “mark of the beast”. What it will do is tell my cells “This is what a Covid-19 virus looks like. When you see it, kill it.” 

Some people think this vaccine was created way too fast and was put out way too quickly. But the science behind this vaccine is the same one that kept Ebola from getting out and killing the world. Picture a taxi cab carrying little army men to the sites they are needed. For each enemy, the soldier needs to carry a specific weapon. What science has discovered is the taxi cab. For Covid, the soldiers carry this weapon. When it’s a different virus someday down the road, the scientists can send the little soldiers off with a different weapon, but they can ride in the same taxi. The taxi was built before Covid spread. Once the Chinese geneticists released the gene sequence for the covid virus, all the scientists had to do, was get just the right info into the ammunition the soldiers carried and send them in their little taxis in all the test subjects to make sure everything worked. They gave some of them the right ammo. They gave the rest sterile water. Then they documented EVERYTHING, gathered the data, and submitted the information for an Emergency Use Authorization.

I hope this simplifies things and helps you to understand the process a little better. My last job before retirement was Clinical Pharmaceutical Research Associate for a huge Multiple Sclerosis study. This is what I did for a living, so once I saw the data that was coming in, I had no qualms about taking the vaccine. I trust science, I trust Dr. Fauci, and I believe now that we are getting a solid plan in place, we’ll start seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Last night, Dr. Fauci said the data looks like we MIGHT be heading into a plateau, but things are still going to be bad for another month or two. That’s when we begin to head into warmer weather, people will be able to get outside more, more vaccines will be in arms, and hopefully more people are following health guidelines to prevent the spread. We still need to keep our eyes on the variants that are showing up, but the rest of this is marginally optimistic as far as I’m concerned.

?

“dear friend, and I pray all goes well for you. I hope you are as strong in body, as I know you are in spirit.”

3 John 1:2 CEV